La Guillotine: Dickens' Philosophical Use of Figurative Language Emily Miller 10th Grade

Lasting from 1789 to 1799, the French Revolution is characterized by the uprisal of the lower class and the bloodshed associated with it. It is now recognized as the most violent, inhumane revolution in European history, and with it came new ideas of philosophy and human nature. Charles Dickens’s novel A Tale of Two Cities demonstrates these ideas through contrasting areas of Europe, England and France, during the time of the Revolution. Charles Darnay, the book’s protagonist, comes from a line of wealthy French aristocrats, but disagrees with their loose morality and denounces his family name, moving to England. There, he meets Lucie Manette, daughter of the well-respected Dr. Manette, whom he marries. Upon returning to France, however, he is put on trial for immigrating to England and is sentenced to death. Dickens’s characteristic writing style utilizes figurative language to describe the Revolution in detail. Throughout the novel, Dickens uses figurative language to portray that humanity is naturally evil, through themes of violence, chaos, and conflict between social classes.

At the center of Dickens’s concept of humanity is their bloodthirst, conveyed through personification and symbolistic characters. Perhaps the most...